Life Is Real
by ILoveBeatleGeorge
Summary: Exploration of Sirius and Regulus Black's relationship before, during and after Hogwarts. Mild abuse and language, full summary inside.


_**Full Summary: Sirius and Regulus didn't always hate each other. Right? No, they didn't. This story will go in depth into the brothers' relationships starting before Sirius enters Hogwarts and going to Regulus' premature death. You will see the boys' relationship as they hide from their drunk father, and then as Sirius is sorted into Gryffindor. You'll see them as Regulus enters Hogwarts and follows the path of their family and as Sirius leaves home. And last you'll see Sirius after Regulus dies. All together it should be about five chapters long. As of now, the chapter titles (as well as the story title) will all come from Queen songs but will have nothing to do with the songs.**_

**This chapter consists of Sirius and Regulus' journey before Sirius goes to Hogwarts. This chapter will end as Sirius enters the train, there will be some time lapse. It starts off with a ten year old Sirius and a nine year old Regulus. I don't own anything in this fiction that right belongs to Jo.**

**Chapter One: You're My Best Friend**

Two young boys were sitting in a dirty attic of, what appeared to be, a very old house. The setting could have easily been pulled straight out of a cliché horror film.__The boys couldn't have been more than two years apart but, if not for the height difference, they could've been identical twins. Both had grey eyes and long, wavy jet black hair and, at the moment, looks of complete terror on their faces. The source of the terror was the same force that had driven them up to the attic, their father, well their father's drunken rage, as he was fine without alcohol. Their mother was no help, though not drunk; she had always somehow focused their father's rage onto the two young boys and away from herself. They had learnt years ago that there were two options; take the beating or find refuge. For years they had suffered through his beatings before the elder brother had thought of the attic as a hideout, their father rarely ventured that far up in the house and when he did it was never on purpose, in fact he often forgot the attic existed. Due to their father's sober forgetfulness the boys felt very safe in the small highest room in the house knowing that the alcohol only escalated the lack of remembrance.

The elder boy, who appeared to be about ten years old, took the younger one in his arms and began to comfort him softly. The words seemed to be working because the younger boy's shudders were slowing down and his sobs were quieting. The boy buried his head in his brother's shoulder and stopped crying all together. Hours passed as the younger brother slept on his brother's shoulder and the older boy listened to sounds to tell him if their father had passed out yet. Eventually he decided the coast was clear and started to nudge his brother softly.

"Reg. Reg, wake up, I think dad's done" he said as he gently nudged his brother.

The younger brother, Reg, woke up and looked at his older brother with shiny eyes, fresh with tears, and cocked his head to the side as though asking if it really was over. His brother answered him with his eyes, telling him that he was as sure as he could be without actually leaving the attic. The brothers decided, silently, to exit the attic together and to not let their guard down until they were safely in Reg's room, the room closest to the attic. And they almost succeeded.

When the brothers reached the flight of stairs between their father's office and Reg's room they were caught. Their father came out of nowhere, or what seemed to be nowhere to them, and grabbed the brother closest to him, Reg.

"Run, Sirius, run!" the young boy screamed. "I'll be alright, just go!"

"No, Regulus. I am not leaving you here. I'm the oldest." Sirius said before addressing their father. "Dad, I'm the one who suggested we hide from you, take it out on me, not Reg!"

Their father continued to beat Regulus, ignoring Sirius' pleas until he felt a weight on his back. Sirius had jumped on his father's back, to attempt to draw the attention from Reg and onto himself. His father dropped Reg immediately, turning his drunken hate to his older son, who had the audacity to distract him from beating the younger one senseless. He slurred something drunkenly at the lump on his back before reaching to it and pulling it to the ground.

Once Sirius hit the floor he knew it wouldn't be long before he was the one being beat within inches of his life. His father swung at him madly calling him horrible words and "an ungrateful little scum". Sirius was used to this; when he and Regulus were younger, before they began to hide in the attic, his father had gotten drunk and beat at least one of them every other day. With the beatings had come the slurs of swear words and other horrible things that no one should call their children. As his father hurdled at him Sirius saw Regulus appear at the other side of the hall, he winked before disappearing once again.

The much older man landed on Sirius with a crack from somewhere in the boy's body, the beating then continued for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. Then, someone flooed. With no remorse his father got up, dusted himself off and headed back off to his office, as the whole thing had never happened, to answer the call.

Sirius somehow heaved himself up and headed to the closest room, Reg's room. He found his younger brother sitting on his bed with a small, yet still obvious, mischievous smile on his lips. Sirius sat down next to him an initial shudder running through his injured body but a calm following. He looked to his younger brother, still unsure of what to say.

"Reg," he started "I needed to do that for you, it's my job."

"I know, Sirius" the younger boy said cheerfully. "but I needed to help you too. That firecall was no accident."

"How?" Sirius asked with amazement at the younger boy's cunning and skill.

"I used the fire downstairs and begged Cissy to call daddy and tell him there's urgent business. I owe her five galleons now but I don't mind, you're worth it."

"Thanks Reg."

The two boys sat in silence for a long time, both too caught up in their own thoughts to speak to the other. One was thinking of how much he now despised the whole family (save a few members, including his brother) and how he would do anything to see the fall of his father and the other evil members. The other was thinking, rather, of how much he adored his family, even his father, and how he wouldn't know what to do without them and their teaching; his brother ranked very high among them, below only Bellatrix.

"Reg, I want out of this family. You and me. We could run away and live with Andy."

"We could never do that, Sirius, she's a blood traitor and I love our family. Can't we just stay here?"

"I guess. And I guess I still love you anyway."

"I love you too, Sirius."

_One year later: August 1, 1970_

The residents of number twelve Grimmauld Place were…. in varying emotional states. The eldest child was ecstatic; he was finally leaving his wretched family behind and going off to bigger and better things. He also had a twinge, an extremely small twinge, of sadness because while most of his immediate family was wretched his younger brother still had hope and he didn't know how that light would be kindled without his presence. The younger child was an emotional wreck; he was sad beyond words while still trying to be happy for his older brother and it wasn't working. Both parents were happy, to a point, without having the older boy they could finally get into the weak minded son's head but they were worried that the elder boy would end up somewhere that they didn't want him, somewhere where he could be loved and have fun.

What was the cause of these emotional states? A letter, an acceptance letter into the best school of magic on the European continent. Sirius Black had just been accepted into Hogwarts and his relationship with his brother was never going to be the same.


End file.
